The Land of the Fireflies
by fanficfantasies
Summary: Songfic to Fireflies, rated K plus because I'm paraniod. Sam and Danny; Danny and Sam. Did you ever wonder how they first met? A slightly AU version of their first meeting, and then a progression through friendship to romance through out their years together. Not all mushy-gushy (Not that much kissing, note it's rated K plus) , but deffinatly romantic.


**A/N: Hi guys! Thought I'd give you a February vacation surprise! I'm not allowed to PM, so any review replies I find necessary will be on my profile for now on. This is something I started a long time ago and dug out to finish as a present for all of you. Oh, and when you see the stars, go to the bottom of the screen for a reference. Enjoy!**

**VERY, VERY IMPORTANT- I have a lot of songs mentioned, dances mentioned, Earth fun facts mentioned, collages mentioned, and even time zones mentioned. Yes, they are all real. They all belong to whoever they belong to. And no, I don't own Danny Phantom, and yes, the song Fireflies does belong to Owl City.**

You would not believe your eyes

If ten million fireflies  
Lit up the world as I fell asleep

Little Daniel Fenton's family is far from normal. His parents are the leading ghost hunters in Amity Park, a city that will soon be known as the most haunted city in the US. But Daniel's, or Danny's, as that is his preferred name, early years were peaceful for everyone, the calm before the storm, as people would later say.

Even though many people felt his family was weird, most were kind enough to say nothing about it. Most left them be, and hoped that none of their inventions blew up.

If you meet Danny's family, you would honestly think they were weird, sometimes insane. Danny's mom, Madeline, or Maddie Fenton, always wore a blue jumpsuit and was practically always seen with an invention in her hands. Her husband, Jack Fenton, was a clumsy oaf who cared so much for his family that he would shoot a ghost gun a everyone who rang the doorbell. They really try to be good parents, but they can't always help the way they'd like.

Take Danny's first week in the first grade, for example. He was going to Spirit Central Elementary, just like Jasmine was. He was so enthusiastic about everything about school. From homework to teachers to friends, if you were to ask him how his day went, you would be met with a speech about every aspect of his day.

But he came home on the fourth day completely downcast. He didn't respond to his mom's hello, or his dad's question on how his day went. He just went straight up to his room, not even coming down for dinner.

His parents were worried, of course. But once Jasmine walked through the door, they had pushed away their worry to listen to her. Eventually they forgot that Danny even was in his room.

For hours Danny sat in his room. He keep himself occupied by drawing, writing, listening to music, and just staring at the ceiling.

Why would Danny do this? It wasn't just a sign of a rebelling streak. At school that day the teacher, a girl with the name Mrs. Cynthia, asked the students what they wanted to be when they grew up. There were many firefighters, doctors, and even a superhero that came from the students, but Danny gave a rather unusual answer.

"I want to be a ghost hunter, just like my parents!" he shouted when it was his turn with a great smile on his face.

There were three seconds of silence before the students started laughing. One of the students, who would be later known as Dash, shouted "You want to be a freak like your parents? I guess the apple never falls to far from the tree."

The teacher sent Dash to the office and resumed the class, but Danny felt heart broken the rest of the day. His parents weren't freaks, were they?

Danny fell asleep that night only after answering his question. Despite how great of people his parents were, they were freaks. And Danny didn't want to be like them when he grew up.

Danny woke up in the middle of the night with a growling stomach. He creped past his parents room and headed downstairs. He ate a Twinkie and was about to go back up to bed when he looked out his back door.

Danny gasped and ran over to the door in wonder. He stared outside the door with wide eyes.

_This is not true. It can't be._

There were about a zillion fireflies all zooming around outside. Danny could not stop staring at the incredible fireflies, all zooming and humming, like they were having their own conversations.

_Maybe they were talking about me,_ Danny thought. He stepped outside for one second, letting the fireflies surround him. _It's like I'm an alien here._

Suddenly and completely unbidden Danny yawned. He slid back into his house, walked upstairs and laid down in his bed. But it seemed empty to him without the fireflies. One last time, he got up and opened his window. The fireflies came as close to Danny as the screen let them. Danny smiled at them, before moving back to his bed.

The fireflies lit up his room as Danny fell asleep.

Cause they fill the open air  
And leave teardrops everywhere  
You'd think me rude, but I  
Would just stand and stare.

I rubbed a red mark on my arm as I gazed out of my bedroom window with a telescope. I had just recently gotten the telescope as a gift form my last birthday. It was fun to look at the stars and to gaze at the moon. But sometimes even that couldn't keep the bad thoughts out of my head.

Dash had, yet again, ridiculed me at school today, this time even punching me. He didn't even get in trouble! My parents were two busy working on their inventions to cook dinner, leaving me to eat cereal. Homework was stressing, especially with the project we're getting tomorrow in Social Studies. The worst part is that I have no one to even talk to, Jazz is my sister, so she wouldn't synthesize very well, and I have literally no friends.

I only have the stars.

It didn't surprise my parents that I was up at nine, since I'm almost always up that late to watch the stars. I found the Big Dipper and the North Star. The North Star is suppose to help if you're lost, like I am.

_Star light, Star bright, First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have this wish I wish tonight._

I sighed before I made my wish.

_I wish I had a friend._

By ten o'clock I was still awake, restlessly turning in my bed. I gave up, and started pacing around my room. Eventually I couldn't take being cooped up anymore and practically sprinted outside, screwing what my parents would think.

It didn't take long for me to pack up my telescope and get outdoors. The moon was bright in the sky, stars twinkling, and light sparkling on the dew covered ground. I ran and ran and ran until my house was behind me and I was standing in the land of the fireflies.

They filled the entire sky, bright little lights buzzing in circles. Tiny wing beats were the tempo of their little dance and I found myself watching intently as the swooped and looped and zigged and zagged all across the sky. Their lights left little streaks, much like teardrops, in patterns that only they knew as their dance went on. I lost track of time watching them make the miracle of the firefly dance.

Eventually I looked down, to see that directly across from me was a girl. She had black hair and the most stunning purple eyes that shinned in the moon light. She was standing outside a mansion in her PJ's and combat boots, just as enthralled in the fireflies dance as I was.

Before I knew it I was walking towards her, a girl I didn't even know. She looked down at me as I approached, her hair wavering over her eyes in the perfect way. She wasn't tough, nor gentle, just the perfect kind of person for me.

I held my had out to her. "Danny Fenton."

She looked me over before shaking my hand. "Samantha Manson, but if you call me that you'll get punched. It's Sam to you."

Despite myself I found myself smiling at her words. We looked at each other a little longer before I found the courage to speak up.

"Would you like to look at the moon? I have a telescope. It looks so pretty this time of night."

Sam let her expression switch into excitement. "That would be awesome, Danny."

I'd like to make myself believe  
That planet Earth turns slowly.

The stars were so wonderful. I had never seen them so up close before. Danny Fenton seemed like a nice guy, for being the son of ghost hunters and being out at almost midnight. He let me use the telescope for a long time, and answered every question that I had about space.

After looking at the stars for a little I asked, "Danny, why does the Earth rotate? What causes it?"

Danny thought for a little. Then he turned to look at me, his baby blue eyes sparkling. "The Earth, along with all the other planets, move because of two factors, inertia and gravity. Every object has inertia, which allows all objects to move forward."

"Wait," I interjected. "if that's true then how to all the objects on the Earth stay still?"

Danny grinned. "If you didn't interrupt me I would have explained."

I shut up.

Danny laughed. Then he continued. "If there was no gravity all of the planets, along with comets and universes, everything, would move forward for all eternity. But there is gravity. Gravity in the force that pulls all objects toward Earth. It's also in space too. The bigger the object, the more mass it has, henceforth the more gravity it has. The large objects with more gravity, like the sun, attract smaller objects into its orbit, like Earth, Mars, Mercury, Venus, etc. So since inertia is pushing the Earth forward and gravity is attracting Earth to the sun, it rotates around the sun."

I nodded and thought about that for a minute.

"How long does it take for the Earth to rotate around the sun?"

This time Danny laid down on the dew covered grass and looked at the stars. I did so to, watching the stars and listening to the fireflies. My eyes found the North Star and I watched it lovingly.

Danny sighed. I watched the puff of air that came from his mouth float to the sky.

"The Earth takes about 365 days and 6 hours at speeds about 100,000 kilometers per hour to rotate around the sun. Contrary to popular belief, the Earth does not rotate around the sun slowly, there is just so much distance to cover that it seems slow to us here on Earth."

I turned onto my side and looked directly at Danny's face, following the curves that the light cast on his face. "You make us sound like we're the aliens."

Danny turned to his side and looked at me. For the first time I noticed how close he was to me. My chest was almost touching his. Little frozen puffs of air danced across my face as he whispered, "What if we are?"

It's hard to say that I'd  
Rather stay awake when I'm asleep,  
Cause everything is never as it seems.

I think I'd pay money to stay like this forever, gazing into Sam's beautiful violet eyes. Our breaths mingled, only to be pushed away by the wind. Sam's black hair was blown into my face and brushed against my checks. The whole time I kept my eyes locked on hers.

Sam was the one to break the moment. She rolled onto her back again and I followed suit. I looked back at the moon, but was really thinking about Sam. I could tell there was so much I didn't know about her, so many things I _did_ want to know.

Why did I feel like this? I barely knew Sam. What was going on? What could make me feel this way?

I yawned. I was starting to get tired, sitting out here. Sam seemed to feel the same. We both sat up and I packed up my telescope.

I couldn't stand for this to just be a one time meeting. I looked over to Sam as she turned around.

"Same time tomorrow?"

She turned around, almost surprised that I had asked. Then she smiled. "Yeah, I would like that a lot."

Cause I'd get a thousand hugs  
From ten thousand lightening bugs  
As they tried to teach me how to dance.

It was about a week before I actually had enough spare time to go back to the land of the fireflies. Turns out that me and Sam got partnered up for the Social Studies project along with some kid named Tucker. We were all becoming such great friends, even though I was practically always the peacemaker for fights in between the two about meat vs. vegetables.

Turns out that Sam is an ultra-recycle vegetarian. Or something along those lines. The point is, she doesn't eat anything with a face. And Tucker is like addicted to meat. They don't get along very well.

I see Sam a lot during school, but except for working on the project, we stay pretty separate. I really don't mind. If Sam started hanging out with me, she would plummet even more down on the popularity meter than she already has. You see, Sam's a goth and the only time I saw her otherwise was when we were out watching the stars. She normally wears combat boots, short skirts and black or purple. I don't mind what she wears, as long as she brings herself with it. Her smarts and wits are entertaining, and she actually cares about astronomy and such. Although, it's kind of sad that I'm lower than goths on the school charts.

I went to the land of the fireflies at around nine o'clock to practice for the dance. The school decided it would be perfect to hold a practice dance in the gym next week to better teach the girls and boys to ballroom dance. We were required to know the basics. I didn't want to ask my parents, since I know they would find a way to embarrass me, and instead decided to print out some instructions and come here to practice.

I growled and pulled at my tux, which was itching my neck. Fireflies were all over the place, but this time it seemed more like they were talking than dancing. Putting my feet in the right position, I started a one sided dance.

I failed real fast. With out a rhythm, my timing was wrong, and my clumsiness didn't help. Eventually I fell on my back into the grass.

"I'm never going to do this." I murmured.

"Of course you are, you just need practice."

I jumped up at the sound of a voice. It was Sam, but not her at the same time. Sam was wearing a _red_ ball gown, with loose sleeves and a length that reached to her feet, which was _not_ normal. Her hair was wet and curly, unlike its normal straight, and she was smiling. A CD player was in her hand.

She walked across the grass as I gaped at her, and soon she was standing right in front of me. She set the CD player down and turned it on. Then she started giving me directions.

"Stand with your feet like this… that's it. Now put your hands here and here… Good. You move to the rhythm this way… No the other way… Better."

I followed her directions without questioning, and soon I was ballroom dancing like a pro. We waltzed around the grass without thinking. I found my hands getting sweaty and I started doubting my motions. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. It was hard with Sam's lips so close to mine…

"How do you know how to do this?" I tried to take my eyes off her lips, and instead focused them on her eyes.

"My parents showed me. They want me to be an 'upstanding citizen' who 'takes place in society', so they wanted me to learn how to ballroom dance. Why are you trying to learn? Oh, wait, the practice dance."

I smiled nervously. "Yep."

Her eyes sparkled with intellect. For a few moments I would have paid money to know what she was thinking. Was there anything I could teach her?

Then I got a great idea. I ran over to the CD player and plugged my I-Pod into it. I slid threw my songs until I found the one I wanted.

DJ's Got Us Fall'n In Love came on. Perfect. I set it on constant loop and turned to Sam.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

I grinned broadly. "I'm teaching you the Beginner Intermediate Line Dance."

I yelled out the positions as we started to dance. It took a long time, but soon Sam and I were grinning, soaked in sweat, and experts at the dance.

All of the fireflies joined in, and they all moved to the beat. There were tens to thousands of them, all forming around us as we danced, like they were trying to hug us.

Sweat trickling down my brow I looked over to Sam. She was twirling around in her ball gown dancing with a grace I would have never thought she had.

And she was smiling.

A foxtrot above my head,  
A sock-hop beneath my bed,  
The disco ball is just hanging by a thread.

All of the girls were changing into the required ball room dress for the practice dance. It was five o'clock and everyone's parents were coming to pick up their children at seven. This stupid dance would last for _two hours._ This is almost as bad as my parents dancing lessons.

I slid on the same gown that I wore that night with Danny. I inhaled, trying to pull up the memories. It was probably the best night of my life. Dancing DJ's Got Us Fall'n In Love Again with Danny… to die for.

I finished putting on my dress and turned toward all the other girls. Most were struggling with their dresses. I went over and helped most of them, except for Paullina, whom I left in the dust, before heading out to the gym.

The teachers paired us up with boys and walked us through ball room dancing. Then they left. I didn't even know the boy I got and he kept stepping on my feet. All I could think about was the wonderful time I had with Danny last night…

After the boy stepped on my foot for the fifth time, I decided I couldn't take this torture anymore. I stepped away from the boy and yelled at the top of my lungs, "Stop!"

Everyone immediately stopped and stared at me. People cleared space for me to stand in, probably just to separate themselves for the trouble maker.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is boring?" I asked every one.

A lot of people mumbled no's.

"What's that?" I shouted.

"No!" they replied obediently.

"Do you want to do something fun?"

"Yes!"

I smiled. "Good. Everybody partner up!"

I gestured at Danny. He looked at me strangely, but he came over. I whispered what I was going to do in his ear. He smiled, and told me to go for it.

"Ok, everyone got a partner? Good. Now does anyone know the foxtrot?"

Many no's came from my fellow students.

"Here's how you do it. Everyone get in a line. Now, get in your ballroom dancing position. Good. Now take two slow steps back, girls moving forward and guys going backwards. Then one quick one to the left. Like this."

Danny and me demonstrated the steps. Everyone else got it pretty quickly after that.

"Ok! Now reverse so that the girls are taking two steps back and the boys are taking the ones forward… great… and now step to the right. Perfect you guys!"

I made them practice a few more times, but then deemed their dancing satisfactory.

"Now, anyone heard of the jitterbug*?"

There was no response.

"Well, I'm going to teach it to you. Ok, for the jitterbug you must step back and forth on the beats, so for you clumsy ones this is going to be hard for you." I made a mock glare at Danny as I said this. "So try the basic position, just stepping right foot, left foot, right foot… Great! Now partners, get at an angle. Good. Start rocking to the beat, left, right, left, right. Now ladies, here is the hard part. You have to step on the beat forward three times and then twirl."

The students got it pretty fast. I told them to stop.

"Now for the fun part! One two three, hit it!"

Danny flipped the lights off and put on Dynamite. I shouted to the students, "When I call out the dance moves, switch. Foxtrot!"

That got the students dancing. I stopped focusing on them, but started focusing on Danny. He was grinning. In the low light he looked almost angelic, but it kind of made him look hot. We started dancing around, with me shouting out new dance moves every once and a while, and just having a good time.

"Foxtrot!" I shouted. Danny and I danced it for a little, before I yelled, "Jitterbug!" And the dance completely changed. Soon Danny was spinning me, my sequins shimmering in the dim. I felt like a disco ball hanging by its only thread.

The night whirled away in smiles, dances, and the warm feeling of being in someone's arms. Soon I was laying in my bed for the night, whispering, "I so want to do that again."

I'd like to make myself believe  
That planet Earth turns slowly.  
It's hard to say that I'd  
Rather stay awake when I'm asleep,  
Cause everything is never as it seems.  
(When I fall asleep.)

I was looking up at the stars. I hardly ever had any moments of peace anymore, now that I have my ghost powers. This was one of those rare moments where I'm not chasing the Box Ghost, dealing with Vlad, cramming for one of Lancer's tests, or suffering 'family time' with my family. It was just me, myself, and I looking at the stars.

It was nice, and I didn't want to end the moment, but there was something that I'd been dieing to try since I got my ghost powers. I stretched inside my spacesuit, enjoying the feeling that I got from it, and then slid on the helmet. I took some deep breaths and prepared myself mentally.

_Lift off in 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2..._

One.

I leaped up and shot into the sky at top speed. I felt like my face was being pulled off by the velocity, about 10 kilometers per second, but I pushed through it. I wanted to see if this would work.

It did. In no time at all I was shooting like a rocket through space. I passed many satellites and some building looking thing with windows**, but soon I was just rocketing though the endless space.

I whooped inside my space radio. It was amazing. Just flying through the meteorites, gliding around stars… I knew I would be doing it again soon.

Eventually my energy levels dropped, and I just hovered and stared at the Earth. I could see the cloud cover moving across the surface, watched as the image changed over and over again. It was… it was magic.

I could not believe my eyes when the clouds turned into an image of Sam… I sighed. Sam… I really did love her, I just didn't know how to tell her. What if I chased her away? What if she didn't feel the same way?

The image of Sam disappeared, leaving me feeling like something was watching me. I looked around and there was nothing there. But, still feeling wary, I rocketed back to Earth. If I had learned anything as a half ghost is that nothing is as it seems.

Leave my door open just a crack.  
(Please take me away from here.)

I waited until I heard my parents go into their room. Ten more minutes, just to be sure…

When I heard the telltale signs of snoring, I crawled out of my bed, got dressed into my normal outfit (complete with combat boots), grabbed a Fenton Thermos, and headed out. I slid out of my door, which I had left open a crack for just this reason, and ran outside.

Tucker sent me the location of some lower level ghosts through the Fenton Phones. I went out and easily captured all of them is less that ten minutes. I wasn't even focusing on the Box Ghost's rant, or any of the sub-conscious phantoms I caught. I could only think of Danny.

His parents are dragging Danny and Jazz on a 'tour of Britain'***** or, in other words, on a spree to hunt ghosts. So Danny gets to hear his parents babble on and on about how they want to rip Phantom up molecule by molecule _and_ gets to hunt side-by-side with his parents for a month. I honestly feel bad for him.

I'm so worried about him, for reasons I do not know. He's fought many worse ghosts than the ones his parents will take him hunting on before… but I can't help but worry. What if his parents find him out? Jazz will try her best to help him keep his secret… but sometimes your best isn't enough. What if Vlad is there? What if Danny gets caught by a ghost? What if…

_Stop Sam, just stop. Don't worry about Danny. He's going to be fine._

I started walking back to my house, kicking every rock I could find, trying to stop all my stress filled thoughts from overflowing my brain. It didn't work. I almost punched a wall at one point.

I needed someone to put me at peace, a roll only Danny can fill. _Danny, can you please come home?_

I waited for a little. Nothing. I kept walking. Why did I even think that would work? I walked and walked… and soon I found myself in the land of the fireflies. Danny and I used to always hang out here when we were younger. The fireflies were still doing their dance, just like they did all those years ago. I laid down on the grass, trying to relive the memories.

I could remember that time I had to teach Danny how to ball dance… my hand in his, our faces so close our breaths touched… then Danny teaching me how to dance the DJ Got Us Fall'n In Love Again Line Dance… It was nice to remember, since I could feel like Danny was right next to me.

I opened my eyes and looked at the North Star, remembering me and Danny's first conversation together. How our friendship accelerated from there.

Halfway into my brooding, I could here a shimmering coming from right next to me. I watched in amazement as Danny, in Phantom form, appeared right next to me. He staggered and then started to fall. I lunged out and caught him right before he hit the ground.

"Danny! How did you get here? Are you ok?"

I set him down and helped him into a sitting position. I groped around for my water bottle and gave it to Danny. He drank it up fast. He talked while trying to catch his breath.

"Teleported…I'll be fine in a few seconds…"

"Danny!" I shouted in worry and surprise. "You teleported from England? You could have killed yourself! What were you thinking?"

Danny caught his breath and grinned at me. "I wanted to see you."

I couldn't believe it. He did that just to see me? The shock must have been evident on my face.

"You really underestimate our friendship." Danny looked like he was going to stand up, but thought better of it, deciding instead to lay on the grass. I followed suit, laying down on the grass right next to Danny.

"How's the trip been going?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could, after Danny's near full-death experience.

"Well, other than the whole ghost hunting with my parents thing, it's been going good. Number one I'm not dead. Actually, no one has been coming and requesting Phantom either, which is also good. And I have more good news. I meet this hot black haired chick there. She is literally the best person I have ever known. _Ever._ I was hoping for some help on how to ask her out. Can you help?"

I almost choked on his words. I fell into a mix of jealousy and disappointment. _Well what else were you expecting him to say? _

_ I was expecting him to _not _say he ran into a hot chick. I was hoping he would say he loved me._

I tried to keep my sigh of disappointment inside. "Well, I'd ask this 'chick' if she'd go to something that she likes with you, and then if the date goes well… you tell her how you feel about her."

Danny looked up at the stars, like he was deep in thought. But I wasn't paying attention to him. I was deep within my own thoughts. Why would Danny meet another chick in England and then ask my advice on how to ask her on a date? It didn't seem right.

"Sam." I looked back over to Danny as he started to speak. He was still staring at the stars. "Would you like to go to the movies with me once I get back home?"

I looked over at him in astonishment. "Me? What about the black haired chick?"

"You _are_ the black haired chick. Do you want to go to the movies?"

I don't know what came over me. I just felt like I was floating. I could hardly hear the words coming out of my mouth, could hardly see the stars and fireflies above me.

"Sure." The words flied out of my mouth. "Only if you kiss me."

In the same position that me and Danny were in such a long time ago, when we first met, Danny leaned in and gave me my first kiss.

Cause I feel like such an insomniac.  
(Please take me away from here.)

I laid in the hotel room in Britain, staring at the ceiling. I listened to my parent's snored and used that to control my breathing, but I didn't try to go to sleep. I don't ever need as much sleep now as I used to, with me fighting ghosts and all. The thought of fighting ghosts made me homesick and anxious with worry. What if something bad had happened?

Tucker is smart. If something bad happened he would try to seek me out via the e-mail and warn me of the danger. I was more worried about Sam. Her being the stubborn person she was, there is no way she'd leave Amity Park to the ghosts. She would probably stay there, strong in her faith I would come.

Suddenly I wanted to be there with Sam. I wanted to tell her how I feel about her. I wanted to take her on a date, hold her in my arms and know that she loves me just as much as I love her.

I've been shy for way to long. I decided to tell Sam how I felt right now.

But there was the little problem. I was in England. Sam's in the US. I could try to teleport…

You know, what the heck? I silently transformed into Phantom, then gathered all the power I could spare. I focused on the specific point I wanted to be at (I really don't want to end up in China again***) and focused on being there. A green light encased me in its glow and I arrived at… the land of the fireflies.

My vision blurred until I could only see blue spots doing the foxtrot in front of my eyes. I could feel myself falling, but I seemed to stop before I hit the ground. I tried to focus my eyes. Who had caught me?

It was Sam? What was she doing here? She handed me a bottle of water which I drowned eagerly.

"Danny! How did you get here? Are you ok?" she asked with a worried hint to her tone.

"Teleported…I'll be fine in a few seconds…" I spoke in between drinking the water and trying to steady my breathing.

"Danny!" Sam shouted at me. "You teleported from England? You could have killed yourself! What were you thinking?"

I grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "I wanted to see you."

Like a giant banner, shock spread across Sam's whole face. "You really underestimate our friendship." I started to get up, but thought against it. I sunk down into the grass and stared at the stars like I used to do so long ago. Sam did the same, lying close enough to me that I wanted to wrap my arm around her, but I restrained myself.

"How's the trip been going?" Sam asked.

I paused for a moment. How am I going to say this?

The words rushed out of my mouth as fast as I thought of them. "Well, other than the whole ghost hunting with my parents thing, it's been going good. Number one I'm not dead. Actually, no one has been coming and requesting Phantom either, which is also good. And I have more good news. I meet this hot black haired chick there. She is literally the best person I have ever known. _Ever._ I was hoping for some help on how to ask her out. Can you help?"

I caught the sigh Sam tried to hold in. After some silence she replied, "Well, I'd ask this 'chick' if she'd go to something that she likes with you, and then if the date goes well… you tell her how you feel about her."

I looked back at the stars. How was I going to bring myself to say this? What if she refuses? What if she doesn't love me back?

_Danny Fenton, you said you were going to do this, so you sure as heck are going to do it._

"Sam." I paused, debating my words. Would you like to go to the movies with me once I get back home?"

She stared at me in astonishment. "Me? What about the black haired chick?"

"You _are_ the black haired chick. Do you want to go to the movies?"

Sam looked like she had floated out of this world and into an alien planet. I watched her face in desperation as she stared, unseeingly, at the fireflies.

She grinned the biggest grin I have ever seen her grin. "Sure. Only if you kiss me."

I turned over so we were both on our sides. I could feel Sam's hair on my chest, but I didn't brush it away. Instead I leaned in for my first kiss.

Why do I tire of counting sheep?  
(Please take me away from here.)  
When I'm far too tired to fall asleep

I was barely able to go intangible and float into the window before I collapsed onto my bed. This was the fifth night in a row that I've been out past four o'clock in the morning fighting ghosts.

I looked at the clock. 4:09. At least I could sleep until seven. I closed my eyes and tried to drop off into sleep. It didn't work, even in my exhausted state. I was so desperate I counted sheep. Didn't work.

How can I be to tired to fall asleep? Actually, don't answer that. It's pretty obvious that I can.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Time to wait out the next three hours.

To ten million fireflies

I'm here 'cause I hate good-byes

I got misty eyes as I said farewell

(Said farewell)

I stared at the thousands of fireflies that I spent most of my childhood around. Looking back, there are so many events that I owe to them. Heck, I owe practically everything to them, because they let me meet the love of my life, Sam Manson.

The time we've been boyfriend and girlfriend has been the best part of my life. She understands my responsibilities with ghosts, and how I can miss dates. In turn I understand her problems, the ones that she can't help but vent to me. I get how she wants to show the world about how important the environment is. She gets how I want to be an astronaut, but how it's impossible to get there because of my grades and half-ghost status. She loves my clueless nature. I love her intellect. We're perfect for each other.

But… but… Even with the ghost fighting all these years, Sam was able to get superb grades. She got a full ride scholarship to Green Mountain Collage and she's planning on getting her masters degree in Science of Sustainable Food Systems, or maybe in Science in Environmental Studies. It's wonderful, and I'm very happy for her. The collage makes it so she can fulfill her dreams, even though I can't. But… the collage is in Vermont.

I didn't get good enough grades to get into a full scholarship, but I did get a half scholarship to, ironically, the University of Wisconsin, Madison. It's close enough to Amity Park for me to still be its protector, allows me to see Jazz, and it has great programs in mechanical engineering and astronomy. Although I'd have to deal with being in Vlad's territory, I could handle it.

The setup was perfect… except the fact I'll have to be away from the love of my life for four long years. We could still visit and video chat, but it wouldn't be the same.

Sighing, I sat down on the grass. The fireflies seemed to notice my glum mood because they flew around me, trying to get me to perk up. It didn't work, but I appreciated the effort. I stuck out my hand to them, and one of them landed on it. Suddenly I was brought back to the memory of me being eight, walking out into the swarm and thinking I was in a different planet. Who knew it would become my home planet? And to think, tomorrow I'll be leaving it.

I felt a presence sit down beside me, and I could immediately tell it was Sam. We had still been hanging out until our departure, but the fake happiness had become strained since we both knew that we would soon be leaving each other. I felt Sam's hair swish as she sat beside me, close enough that it wouldn't have been acceptable if we weren't boyfriend and girlfriend.

Staring into the night, I whispered, "I hate good byes."

Sam's breath blew across my ear as she spoke. "Me too."

The weight that I had been trying to push off for days hit me. In a few measly hours, I wouldn't be able to see Sam in person anymore, or feel her hair, or smell her sent. Out lives were going to both drastically change, and it could be good or bad. We would be apart for so long… what if we change? What if we become incompatible?

I realized that I was crying, small thin tears dripping down my checks. I turned to face Sam and saw she was too. We had come here both for the same reason; we didn't know what to say.

My voice shaky I spoke. "I'm going to miss you."

She offered me a uncertain grin. "I'm going to too, clueless."

For a moment we just hugged, trying to preserve our last memory of each other, before we broke off.

But I know where several are

If my dreams get real bizarre

'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar

We sat in silence for a moment. Then I pulled two jam jars out of my pocket. I carefully opened the jars and, setting them aside, put out my hand. Two fireflies landed on it, and looked at me with peppy eyes, knowing what I was going to do.

I focused on my ghost powers, collecting them until there was a small green ball underneath the surface of my hand. Then I carefully pushed it upward, into the two fireflies. The result was perfect. The two fireflies had a shimmering glow around them, their tail lights were green, and … well, they weren't green spots of goo.

The two fireflies flew into the jam jars, one for each of them. I screwed the lid on them and handed one to Sam, who was watching the fireflies.

Sam looked puzzled at the jar in her hand. "What is this?"

"I used my ghost powers to pull out the fireflies spirit. They are now completely loyal to us, and can carry messages between us. If you want, you can talk to the firefly and your message would be carried to mine, and vise versa. Or, you could opt not to have the message carried. They're like our little familiars. They also have intangibility and invisibility, so they'd be great spies."

Sam's eyes sparkled as she watched the firefly. Then she looked up to me. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." I said. "Just think of me when you look at it."

Sam and I smiled at each other. We stood up and brushed ourselves off, then turned back to our houses.

Walking away, I just couldn't help but look back at Sam's flowing black hair swaying as she walked. "Bye Sam."

She turned around. "Bye Danny. See you soon."

That was the last time we saw each other for a long time.

I'd like to make myself believe

That planet Earth turns slowly

It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep

Because everything is never as it seems

(When I fall asleep)

[x 2]

I woke up to the blaring of my alarm clock. Groaning, I threw my hand on my dresser until I found the alarm's off switch. I tried to remember why I turned it on for Saturday, the only day of the week I get to sleep in. Then I remembered that today was when Danny and I agreed to talk, at seven for me and nine for him.

I dragged myself out of bed, careful not to wake my room mates, because Sheila was aggressive when woken up early. Once in my proper attire I grabbed my jar and headed out to a meadow not far from campus.

Squinting at the bright sun, I set off. Soon I was relaxing in the grass, underneath a large willow tree I preferred to do my homework under. No one else was out this early, leaving just me, myself, and I in the meadow. With that in mind I opened my jar and my firefly, which I had long since named Sarah, buzzed out.

"Sarah, message to Danny."

The firefly blinked in affirmative, eyes glowing hot pink as it connected its self with Danny's firefly, Ryan. Soon it blinked, glazed gray eyes coming back and Danny's voice came through.

"Hi Sam. What's been going on these past few days?"

I told Danny about a project that counted for about half of our semester grade, to create a fine-tuned team to make a significant change in the community. I explained our project, to spread word to the public of how food was processed and the evils of it, using newspaper articles, factory tours, interviews, et cetera. Danny listened attentively, adding a comment here and there, until he had spent almost half and hour listening to me.

Then he took over the floor, telling me everything was fine in Amity, and about his cool new assignment of pinpointing a comet and writing a report on how it would affect the Earth. I thought it would be boring, but Danny's excitement rubbed off on me as we spent at least forty five minute talking about stars. He also told me that things were going ok with Vlad, and about what new powers he had learned of recently.

When Danny had first stated going to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Vlad had found out about it pretty fast. Since it was his territory he could have easily kicked Danny out, but he decided to let him stay, on the condition that once every two weeks Vlad could mentor Danny with his ghost powers. At first Danny, being as stubborn as he is, hated the arrangement, but eventually he warmed up to it, until he was actually looking forward to it. He and Vlad had become very close with in the past two years.

"Danny?" I asked, cutting off his rant on stupidity of some teachers.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Can you believe it's been two years?"

There was silence for a moment as we thought that over.

"No," Danny finally answered, "I can't. The same way I can't believe that we haven't changed from the two people who met each other in the land of the fireflies, so long ago."

I thought about that for a second before replying, "I think we have changed, but we changed together."

"Yeah." Danny said. "Sam, I've got to go; homework to start."

"Got it. Bye, Danny."

"Bye Sam."

I'd like to make myself believe

That planet Earth turns slowly

It's hard to say that I'd ever stay awake when I'm asleep

Because my dreams are bursting at the seams

I couldn't believe it. After four years, Sam was coming back to Amity Park.

I never thought… I never thought it would actually happen. I had always though that Sam would keep living her life in Vermont, and mine in Wisconsin. I never thought she would come back.

I stared at the planes coming in and out, as I waited at the Phantom Fliers Airport. I could remember when we had first found out about it; my face had been cherry red, Sam and Tucker's the same as they laughed themselves out of their chairs at my embarrassment. The uncomfortable, white seat I was sitting in faced the windows, which I was staring out in anticipation.

I had looked up her flight number. It's 412****. Staring out the window I waited. Waited. Waited…

"Flight 412, landing now, I repeat, Flight 412 landing now." the loud speakers blared.

My eyes became even more riveted to the window as I watched Sam get out of the plane and grab her luggage, carting it inside. Her eyes swept the crowd until she found me. Her eyes lit up in sudden joy as she pushed he way to me.

I stood up in a trance. She came back. I don't believe it; she _came back_!

We're finally all home.

The moment she made it to me we hugged like long-lost family members.

She's back.

*** The jitterbug is a dance preformed at sock-hops, and that's what if refers to lyric wise.**

**** That is referring to the Justice League headquarters, which is found in space. I may be righting a second, smaller, one shot about that. Can you guess who's watching him?**

*****That is a very small reference to Nico from the Percy Jackson Series, who when learning his shadow traveling power (like teleportation) always would end up in China if he messed up.**

****** Gosh, what is with all these references? It's not even intentional this time. 412 refers to Boy 412, a boy from the Young Army in the Septimus Heap series. He turns out to be a very important character. The number also adds up to seven, a magic number. **

******* One, I know this is out of order. Deal with it. Britain is referencing the Harry Potter series, since that's where it takes place. Just thought I'd throw that in there.**

**References galore… oh, well. Please type in that wonderful review box!**


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